by Nicole Locke
Mercenaries, danger. Eude was killed. She was stolen. Grace was stolen. Now they were to flee in the middle of the day. These occurrences weren’t her life, yet now they were. The longer she stayed with Reynold, with Darkness, the longer everything else would be grey. Contradictions, and she couldn’t see properly.
When Reynold touched her, kissed her, it felt like...happiness. But she was wrong if he could use such words against her so easily. He displayed a darker side. One full of bitterness, anger. Wrath.
He portrayed Darkness, who was capable of taking parents away. Trust Darkness? It wasn’t a question of trust. The question was, should she? No, but she would, temporarily, if it meant safety for her family. An impossible task to explain to a child.
‘You know Frederick from the vegetable stall?’ At Gabriel’s nod, she continued, ‘He gives us vegetables sometimes, but he also calls the guards when he’s in the mood. Reynold, all these men, Baldr, included, are like that. We can be with them, travel with them, but don’t ever forget who they are and don’t ever forgot who you are.’
As she had with her captor. She needed to remember she couldn’t see in the dark, nor was she supposed to.
‘I understand,’ Gabriel said.
Chapter Twenty
Aliette couldn’t stop trembling as Reynold and his men escorted them through a passage hidden underneath her bed. Not a torch between them, but they shuffled forward with ropes tied around their waists.
With Grace cradled in a sling around her, Aliette clutched the rope that held her to the others. She kept moving only because Gabriel was behind her and depending on each step she took. Because Helewise and Vernon were between mercenaries depending on their strength to keep them moving forward.
It was easier than she thought it would be to step down that staircase into the dark. Maybe because she had already been exposed to so much of it these last days. No torch, no talking. After the pounding of boards against the hatch behind her, everyone was as silent as possible.
Step after step, the passage seemingly unending, the smell of dank earth reminding her of a graveyard. At three tugs on the rope, she stopped and adjusted Grace against her. The child was awake, her head moving though there was nothing to see.
A sound in the front before a shaft of light illuminated Reynold’s outstretched hand and upturned face. In his other hand was a drawn dagger. Then, with a nod, the other mercenaries held the hatch while Reynold untied the rope and she did the same.
Louve loomed into her line of sight. ‘You and your family stay in here out of the light.’
She glanced at Helewise as Louve disappeared up the hatch along with Reynold.
‘She’s very quiet,’ Helewise said to her left.
Aliette jumped before she calmed herself and patted Grace’s back. ‘I don’t know why she doesn’t talk or cry, but maybe she’s like her... Maybe she’s waiting.’
Brushing Grace’s head, Helewise said, ‘Do you think she hears?’
‘I don’t know.’ She didn’t know much about babies and that worried her the most of all. ‘She turns her head at sound, like now. Maybe no one talked to her before I came. Maybe she senses that it isn’t safe to cry.’
‘It appears us females are the only ones who are wary.’ Helewise indicated to Gabriel and Vernon, who were quietly talking to the two mercenaries in the back.
One of the mercenaries was Guarin, whom she had taught to pluck a chicken, but that familiarity provided little comfort. ‘I think we’re right to be wary, I don’t know where we are.’
‘Maybe our men are right to not care when things have improved so much,’ Helewise said. ‘Gabriel... I wouldn’t have expected this of him, but perhaps since you have been here weeks and well cared for, he feels that this is where he can be a child again. Safe and protected.’
It was more than safety because in such a short time, Gabriel was smiling. The food she’d stolen since she’d been kidnapped had given him strength, but being here with the men was altogether different.
The change in him was remarkable. She didn’t think it was the house, food or clothing that made the difference. They’d hardly been here long enough for that to take effect. It was the men. How they catered and respected the boy. His shoulders were straighter and he stood a little taller. It was all too clear she hadn’t provided enough protection or guidance. The fact he had it now, even temporarily, she was grateful for.
‘Being well fed and clothed seems to have improved my husband’s tongue,’ Helewise pointed out.
‘I don’t know whether Vernon’s talking more or Guarin. Would you believe when I first arrived, the men weren’t allowed to speak to me?’
‘Why?’
‘I suspect the secrecy has something to do with why we travel now.’ Aliette reached for Helewise’s gnarled hand. ‘I never thanked you for travelling with us.’
‘Didn’t know I had a choice.’ Helewise gave a quiet laugh and patted their clasped hands. ‘Don’t be so surprised, I haven’t had much of a choice with you for years. The moment I glanced your way you’ve been ordering me and Vernon about.’
Was she as bad as her parents? Ordering them about because she thought she knew better? ‘I didn’t mean—’
‘I meant to thank you.’
Aliette’s eyes watered. ‘I starved you most days. The demands I made. I don’t know what I was thinking. And then this. I fear I’ve made your lives worse.’
Helewise plucked at her new gown. ‘Not worse. Interesting. We’ve had some time to talk before this man of yours arrived and stuffed us in this tunnel. Enough to know that you’ve had little influence on what’s happened since that day in the market.’
Reynold was hardly hers. She didn’t know if he belonged to anyone. ‘Why are you with me? You still don’t need to be. Reynold captured me to care for Grace, but you, you could possibly have—’
‘Don’t even think about it. You’ve spoiled us, we’d be no use in the streets now.’
‘I feared you stayed because I pleaded with you,’ Aliette said. ‘Because I’m selfish.’
‘Because you don’t want to be alone?’
Aliette nodded.
‘Maybe we don’t want to be alone either. Maybe you need to accept we’re together now. Even if I’m hiding in a tunnel that smells and don’t know what’s exactly under my feet.’
Knowing she’d cry, Aliette squeezed Helewise’s hand and held it as Louve jumped down and approached them. She felt the other mercenaries, Vernon and Gabriel gather around.
‘There’s transportation above. Your family, including Grace, will be hidden.’
‘And me?’ Aliette said, reluctantly handing Grace over. Louve turned and gave her to the man behind him.
‘Stay here. Let me get them settled.’
Helewise patted her hand again before she took the arm of Guarin. Vernon was on his other side. Gabriel skipped behind them, offering to help.
Then they were all gone and she was alone. Helewise was right. It did stink, but as long as she kept her eyes on that open hatch, she could keep the fear from her. But the moments stretched on, long enough for her to strain her eyes and ears for any scuffling or fighting. There were voices, horses, what sounded like a cart rolling. But down in the tunnel she couldn’t tell the distance or direction of the sound. All she knew was that time was passing and it was enough for her to worry.
A shadow, then Louve appeared before her again. This time he did not jump, but leaned in with his arms outstretched.
‘Is everything fine?’ she asked.
‘Everyone is safe. It’s only you now.’
Only her. No Reynold, not a glance or a word. He had disappeared through that hatch and she didn’t know if he’d be there when she emerged in the day again. But this wasn’t about him anymore. It was about keeping her family safe. Taking Louve’s hand, she let him hoist her up.
/> They were outside one of the walls of the city, outside the reach of watch guards. Other mercenaries she thought were behind in the fortress were there with horses supplies...and two women. Their hair in tangles, their clothes loose. She’d seen them before. By their gaze, they were not surprised to see her.
She saw no sign of her family. There were two small identical carts, so small she wondered how her family fit.
‘Ignore the carts. Your family is secure and cannot be seen,’ Louve said. ‘You’ll ride with me.’
Her eyes went to Reynold, but his back was turned as he talked to Baldr. Between the distance and his silence she felt like the strangers he meant them to be. Abandoned again. But she’d been through worse and her family was hidden. She would ensure they remained safe.
Louve mounted, then held out his hand. She’d never ridden a horse before; she’d never done any of this before. She jumped and he hoisted her behind him. Awkward, clumsy, she adjusted with her arms and her legs, but couldn’t do so without plastering herself to Louve.
Reynold turned his horse, his calculating gaze resting on each of the parties, but those telling eyes only glanced over her before he yanked the reins and stormed ahead with two mercenaries at his side. She felt that gaze despite its brevity and the riders between them. However, not as many mercenaries as the house had held.
‘Where is everyone?’
‘You could have told me they weren’t yours.’ Louve turned his head, his voice almost a whisper.
‘Who?’ she said.
‘The ones you’ve been feeding. I would have cared for them. You didn’t have to risk it yourself.’
‘There was no risk. They’re my family. One I chose and who chose me.’
‘You know you had me under the impression you’d left a husband and a child.’
She gaped.
‘You can imagine my relief.’ Louve shook his head. ‘You want to tell me about them? There are days we must travel.’
Days with Reynold ignoring her. Days with the carts travelling behind. No caring of Grace, no worry for food. Had she ever had this much time and so much to think about...and matters she needed to forget?
‘About Gabriel?’ she said.
‘The couple as well. They are...amusing.’
On that she agreed. ‘They have their own humour. That is what made me notice them.’
‘Helewise’s laugh?’ Louve said. ‘I think all of France can hear that laugh.’
She had never talked of her family. No one ever asked and for a moment she thought to refuse. Louve’s loyalty was to Reynold. But then she’d have to fill the silence with her thoughts, which would inevitably bring her back to Reynold. Her attention should be only on her family, so she told of the day she met Vernon and Helewise. Told of how embarrassed she was when she asked Vernon to recite what made Helewise laugh. It had been a bawdy tale. At the time, she’d been embarrassed—now she laughed along with Louve.
‘So truly no husbands or other children around?’ Louve asked, wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes. ‘No one else we have to worry for?’
A husband, children. Aliette’s laughter died. She loved her family, but as close as they were, there was a part of her that longed. She had her family, but there always felt as though something was missing. If she just trusted, or felt safe, maybe she wouldn’t be waiting to be left behind again. But she was always left behind. Reynold might be forcing her on this trip, but he had made it clear he wanted nothing to do with her.
‘No others,’ she said. ‘Not that it matters if there were.’
‘With certainty, it matters to him. He’s always watchful of the landscape. He never trusts. Now, he rides with singular purpose as if he’s pursued. What happened in that room?’
Aliette thought she’d hurt Reynold with her panicked words about leaving her. She’d apologised, reasoned with him that her words were a logical choice. But his manners to her became cold, his words turned cruel.
Maybe she was wrong that they had shared something. Maybe Darkness was incapable of caring. Maybe her sleeping when he was near didn’t mean she trusted him. Maybe...
‘Nothing occurred.’
‘He doesn’t glare knives if nothing occurred.’
Reynold rode ahead of them, his back straight, shoulders tense. Was it her who he was angry with, or was the situation of leaving Paris as dire as she suspected? Which begged the question.
‘Where are the other mercenaries?’
She was tired of talking about Reynold. She made a vow that this trip would be about her family and needed to turn the conversation to them. Could they breathe in the carts? Were they padded with blankets for comfort? Irresponsible not to demand an inspection. Irresponsible to take them on a dangerous journey.
At Louve’s silence, she continued, ‘Will you not tell me anything? This will be a very long journey if we are to keep all our secrets.’
‘I’m not worried about who will outlast whom to talk. You can’t get off the horse without my help.’ Placing both reins in one hand, Louve rested his other hand on her thigh. Startled at the sudden intimacy, she shifted her leg, but he didn’t remove it.
‘Take your hand off my leg.’
Louve gave a laugh, but didn’t remove it. ‘The better demand would be why it’s there.’
She grabbed his wrist to lift it off.
‘Don’t,’ he said. ‘A few more moments and the perception will be enough.’
‘Perception?’
‘You are to ride with me for only part of the journey. Soon you’ll ride with Guarin, then Baldr, and so on.’
‘On his command, no doubt,’ she said. Riding from one man to another. Passed around like a—‘Will they be touching me, too?’
‘Yes.’
Like one of the women here who were tossed from one mercenary to another. The feeling of friendship with Louve was gone. If she could jump from the horse, she would.
‘Easy, Aliette. You need to appear happy to be in our august company. You’re supposed to be enjoying my touch and our conversation.’
‘Who will notice? There are only a few people on the roads and even those are mostly children and chickens.’
‘Anyone passing is a spy for the right amount of coin.’
And so she was touched against her will. ‘Why does he think he can dictate how we travel or who is to maul me?’
Louve returned his hand to the reins. ‘He has never explained his deeds. He simply gives orders and they are obeyed.’
That wasn’t the whole truth. ‘But you know why he does it.’
Louve shook his head. ‘I guessed only because I have been with him the longest, but we do not share confidences.’
It wasn’t what Louve said, but the tone that made her believe him. He sounded almost remorseful that he wasn’t closer to Reynold. If they’d been together for years, if Louve was the closest Reynold ever got to a friend, what did that say for her?
‘So we’re both in the dark.’ Because they were purposefully kept there. At a cost to Louve, to her and her family. One she’d pay for Gabriel’s sake, Grace’s as well. But she’d do it for them, not because Darkness ordered it.
She eyed the other women riding, caught the eye of one and tried to smile. The other woman just looked surprised. Was she not supposed to be friendly? Did they know she wasn’t like them? If they knew, then Reynold’s enemies would. ‘Maybe I should ride between your legs like the others.’
‘Never, I couldn’t defend myself. I’m sore from him pounding me into the ground at training,’ Louve said. ‘What are you doing?’
‘Unbinding my hair like the other women.’
Louve exhaled roughly. ‘You’re doing more than that.’
‘I’m loosening my laces. I don’t have breasts, though, so I think this is only going to bare my—’
‘Stop!’
Louve said. ‘He won’t approve.’
‘I don’t need his approval. I’m doing this to protect—’
‘I know why you’re doing it, but the result will be the same. With his sword through my stomach.’ Louve looked her up and down. ‘That’s too loose.’
‘I don’t have as much as the others. I thought it’d help if I—’
‘It does not help. Just riding with us is enough.’
She had had enough. ‘For what? You have to know more than me. He can’t kidnap me and expect me to simply follow him.’
‘You’re angry with him.’ Louve rode and she let him while he mulled his words. She waited. What had her life come to?
‘He’s complicated.’ Louve exhaled. ‘Have you watched his deeds or have you only listened to his words? Has he said words against the poor, or that you’re not worthy?’ He turned his head and she avoided his eyes. ‘I can see he did. Watch his deeds. He gives the extra food to the poor and all the men here need him far worse than he needs our swords. He’s helped more than you.’
He hadn’t helped her at all. Food, clothing, shelter. Things she wished for all her life, but the price was... The price was wanting love. Belonging. Safety. Trust. She was beginning to believe those were obtainable until she said a few words and he turned cruel once again.
There was a moment when she thought she’d...wounded him somehow, but since then he’d ignored her so completely. Now she didn’t know if he could be hurt by anything.
‘I don’t intend to wait around for any more of his help,’ she said.
Louve gave some sound. ‘The two of you are quite alike, you know. It’s rather amusing.’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘Neither does he. But you will. By the time you understand, I won’t have to explain.’
Chapter Twenty-One
They stopped at midday to rest. Aliette knew they followed the Seine. She could see it in the distance. It seemed too obvious of a road and destination, but what did she know of travelling to avoid enemies?